Sussex board tables Home of the Brave vote

Photo by: Ron MacArthurThe Home of the Brave Foundation wants to convert this house near Milford into a homeless women veteran's facility.

For the second time, the Sussex County Board of Adjustment has tabled a request from the Home of the Brave Foundation to open a homeless women veteran's facility near Milford. At its March 18 meeting, board member Norman Rickard said he needed more time to read documentation presented during the March 4 public hearing. The special-use application will be placed on the board's Monday, April 1 agenda.

It's been a long-time goal of the Home of the Brave Foundation to expand and offer a home for homeless women veterans. The foundation has operated a similar facility for men for the past 20 years.

Executive Director Linda Boone said the proposed women's home would offer beds for six women and their children with around-the-clock supervision. Boone said on any given night, there are 25 homeless women veterans in the area. She stressed the home would not be shelter, but a transitional home for longer-term stays.

The type of transitional housing proposed by the Home of the Brave Foundation it not permitted without a variance in AR-1 zoning. The home is located along Griffith Lake Drive near Abbott's Mill, outside Milford.

Proponents say the services are desperately needed, and the home would fit in with the neighborhood. Opponents said they support the concept, but the home conflicts with the single-family home setting of their neighborhood.